Ephesus Marble Road

The marble road runs between the Library of Celsus and the theater, and is part of the sacred way, vvhich, from here, winds its way around Panayır Dağı. It is paved with large, level blocks of marble. On its eastem side, it was lined with a colonnade like those along the sides of Kouretes Street. In the west, the floor level of the colonnade was raised about two meters during the reign of Nero (54-68 CE), and it was converted into a stoa.

What might be an advertisement for the brothel was found on the narrovv sidewalk on the Street side of the stoa. It has a female head, a left foot, a heart, and a Byzantine inscription. In the fifth century, an Ephesian by the name of Eutropios renovated the section of the Street between the stadium and the Vedius Gymnasium, and set up his statue there.

The Ephesus museum is stili restoring the section of the Street beyond the theater gymnasium. During earlier excavations, part of the vaulting was recovered; this is constructed of uniformly-shaped bricks, and was carried by the columns. From this, we know that the colonnades once had a wooden roof. Seating from the stadium was used as a balustrade in previous restorations of this section of the Street. The granite columns of the agora were also similarly employed.